Before Bletchley Park : the codebreakers of the First World War / Paul Gannon.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gannon, Paul, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

World War, 1914-1918--Cryptography.

World War, 1914-1918.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (352, 8 unnumbered pages of plates) : illustrations (some colour), maps

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cheltenham, Gloucestershire : The History Press, [2020]

Summary:

The story of Bletchley Park's codebreaking operations in the Second World War is now well known, but its counterparts in the First World War - Room 40 & MI1(b) - remain in the shadows, despite their involvement in and influence on most of the major events of that war. From the First Battle of the Marne, the shelling of Scarborough, the battles of Jutland and the Somme in 1916, to the battles on the Western Front in 1918, the German naval mutiny and the Zimmermann Telegram, this cast of characters - several of them as eccentric as anyone from Bletchley Park in the Second World War - secretly guided the outcome of the 'Great War' from the confines of a few smoke-filled rooms.Using hundreds of intercepted and decrypted German military, naval and diplomatic messages, bestselling author Paul Gannon reveals the fascinating story of British codebreaking operations. By drawing on many newly discovered archival documents that challenge misleading stories about Room 40 & MI1(b), he reveals a sophisticated machine in operation.

Contents:

Cover

Title

Copyright

Contents

Introduction

Acknowledgements

Prologue

1 Munitions of War

2 Breakout

3 The Longest Link

4 Urgent Imperial Service

5 Birth of a Legend

6 Code Capture

7 Codes and Ciphers

8 Early Days

9 Blockade

10 Counter-Blockade

11 'For You the War is Over'

12 'The Pillars of Hercules have Fallen'

13 Inside Room 40

14 Codebreakers

15 The Spanish Interception

16 'Most Secret: Decipher Yourself'

17 97556 = Zimmermann

18 On Timing and Treachery

19 Applied Intelligence

20 War, Revolution and Peace

Notes

Select Bibliography

Picture Sections.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780750996341

075099634X

OCLC:

1202462115